Gaya: Bihar's first smart electric meter was installed on the residential premises of Kumar Kanishk, a resident of street number 5, Shivapuri Colony of Gaya town, on Tuesday.

The new-generation smart meters are well ahead of the electronic meters. Smart meters, according to India Power's DGM Rakesh Ranjan, will, besides dispensing with the necessity of manual reading, alert power supply officials to snags with precise location and other details.

Smart meter users will no longer be required to register complaints as the meters will send signals to the main server, thereby ensuring prompt fault repair.

According to Ranjan, 10,000 smart meters would be installed in the first phase within the next two months. There are about one lakh power consumers in Gaya town, Bodh Gaya and Manpur areas.

The power company has simultaneously undertaken the task of replacing old and naked LT wires with aerial bunch cable with five wires bunched together. Three of the five wires carry current provided by the three phases emanating from distribution transformer and the two remaining wires are used for earth and street light purposes respectively.

Once the smart meters are installed, powermen will no longer have to climb atop poles for disconnection purposes. Power supply to the defaulters will be disconnected from the main server itself and reconnection too will be instantly done once the bill is paid.

Smart meters, according to Ranjan, will be beneficial both for the consumer as well as the power company. Whereas the consumer will be getting quality power (aerial bunch cable will minimise voltage fluctuation), the power company will benefit as the system seals the leakages that cause power theft.

Union energy minister Piyush Goel has directed power companies to ensure 100% smart meter coverage by the year 2020. Gaya is likely to complete the job well ahead of the 2020 deadline.